Man Arrested for Throwing BACON at a Mosque

The Hoke County Sheriff’s Office has arrested a major in the U.S. Army Reserves after an incident at a Raeford mosque where a man left open packages of bacon at the entrance, threatened to kill members of the mosque and attempted to run them down with his SUV.

According to authorities, a Chevrolet Tahoe was parked outside Masjid Al Madina mosque located at 196 Pittman Grove Church Road. The man inside has been identified as U.S. Army Reserve Maj. Russell Thomas Langford. Langford is accused of following members of the mosque when they got into a car and left the property.

Later in the evening, Langford made death threats against members of Masjid Al Madina. Authorities were called and deputies responded to the scene.

An investigation was started and several firearms, ammunition, and a number of additional weapons were located inside the Tahoe.

According to Capt. Eric Connor with the U.S. Army Reserves Command at Fort Bragg, Langford first enlisted in the Army in 2003 and served two tours of Iraq, one in 2004 and another in 2008.

Langford has been awarded the Bronze Star, Army Commendation Medal, Army Good Conduct Medal, as well as other theater service medals. He went off active duty in November 2008 and immediately went into the Army Reserve.

Langford has been working in the Army Reserveds G 3-3 Mobilization Section at Fort Bragg and had no prior issues in his Army record.

Connor told CBS North Carolina that

The U.S. Army Reserve Command is aware of the arrest of Maj. Russell
Langford. The incident is currently under investigation…While we cannot talk about this incident because it is under investigation, we can tell you actions like this are totally contradictory to the Army Values.”

The Council on American–Islamic Relations (CAIR), an advocacy organization for Muslim civil rights, is now asking for an investigation into a possible hate crime and additional law enforcement patrols in the area of the mosque.

“We call on state law enforcement authorities and the FBI to investigate this incident as a possible hate crime. We also ask local police to step up patrols in the area of this and other North Carolina mosques, particularly during the nightly activities associated with the ongoing fast of Ramadan.” – Ibrahim Hooper, CAIR National Communications Director